The document discusses how the opening sequence of a horror film attracts audiences through its use of conventions, editing techniques, characters, mise-en-scene, locations, and props. Specifically, it introduces two main characters - Jade, who would attract through relatability, and Clarissa, who would attract the male gaze. The forest location was chosen to attract British audiences for its familiarity. Editing uses fast pacing and juxtaposition to create an escapist tone. A tent prop in a subtle edited scene also hints at foreshadowing future events.

1. Suzanne Micael
5) How did you attract/address
your audience?
Throughout my opening sequence, I manipulated different conventions that enabled me
to attract the specific target audience desired for this film product. As well as this, I was
able to specifically use editing techniques to address particular audiences as well as
attract them. In general, the horror genre attracts a wide range of people from the ages
of 15 - 40 as it contains specific themes that are together appropriate and entertaining.

2. Characters
The characters included within the opening sequence were specifically
chosen to address and represent different types of audiences. This in turn
would also allow an audience to relate to the characters they could
identify as similar to themselves. In my opening sequence, two characters
were introduced that not only had completely different physical
appearances, they also illustrated different personality types the
stereotypical Propps character the hero could have.
It is important to mention that the film is based in contemporary London,
therefore to truly present how diverse London actually is, I chose to make
both my protagonists different ethnicities and class status’.
However it was also vital the narrative was realistic which meant their
ages had to be similar as it would make the group of characters seem
more believable.

3. Jade
Clarissa
Physical Appearance -
Medium height, British
African background and
ethnicity, long brown hair,
modern clothing , natural
make-up.
Personality -
Defensive, loyal, shy,
pessimistic, witty & stubborn.
Personality -
Flirtatious, funny, caring,
organised and responsible.
Physical Appearance - Tall in
height, White British
background. Long blonde hair,
modern clothing , more
obvious makeup
Jade’s physical appearance attracts audiences as they are
able to identify with her in terms of the gratifications
theory. Jades behaviour attracts an audience towards her
personality as people tend to enjoy the presence of a w
itty person.
Clarissa is considerably an attractive female with the use of her mise-
en-scene makeup and movement. The male gaze theory suggest that
Clarissa could potentially draw in a male audience who could possibly
identify her as a sexualised character. Also, her costuming makes her
character more easy to relate to as her modern clothes make her seem
like a normal girl. The audience then identifies themselves with her as
they can then watch this film as a form of escapism and sympathise for
her in the rest of the storyline.

4. Mise-en-scene and Location
One of the main locations in this film is the forest. This was all filmed in Primrose Hill,
one of London's notorious parks . Filming at this precise location could potentially
attract British cinema-goers as they are familiar with the location and may be
intrigued at the fact the film was set there. The fast paced opening sequence was also
a way of in cooperating a variation of camera shots, angles and movements that
make this location recognisable.
This particular time-lapse framing
shot of the silhouette of a tree is a
subtle beginning to the opening
sequence.

5. Mise-en-scene: Props
Creating a storyline that centres around a prop
meant I had to consider the way the audience
would perceive this. Often in the horror genre, a
specific scary prop ranging from a mirror,
camera or necklace creates the grounds for the
film. As the group stumble upon the book in the
forest, this acts as a stimuli for them to
understand the actual plot of the film. This
attracts an audience as they find connecting the
deaths of their friends to this particular prop.
Another prop I used to attract the audience in
my opening sequence is the tent featured in a
scene between the opening titles. This prop
draws attention to where the group of friends
will be setting up camp later on in the film.

6. Editing
Using different software’s , I managed to develop my editing skills to create a fast
paced opening sequence that attracts audiences who are watching this film as a form
of escapism. This was created by using Final Cut Pro and creating consistent jumps
between shots and introducing the juxtaposition contrast of the short fast scenes to
the simplistic black and white titles using the software Motion.
VS

7. I included an element of foreshadowing with my editing using the prop stated
above; the tent. In this particular scene, I cut the shot in seconds and inserted a
1 second clip of the tent damaged and placed it into the middle of a shot in
which the tent remained fine. This slight glance into what is going to happen
makes the audience question why this is going to happen. Somewhat preparing
them for the rest of the film.
3 seconds 3 seconds
1 second